Will Parker Book 1: The Shadows Secret
by Rustdude1
Summary: Will Parker thought he was just a normal teen who just so happens to be rich, and lives in a pent house, by himself. Well he was dead wrong. Will learns everything that he did not wish to know about his life through a rough situation. If you were to ask Will he would blame it on the book. What book? Why a sacred magical book that should not fall into the wrong hands.
1. I Find a Disliking for the Subway

Running, all I could do was run. The area was pitch black. I could see nothing, and hear nothing. I was stuck, and it was worse because if I made an attempt to stop the panting of the beast got louder and louder. I ran and ran until suddenly my head snapped backwards and I dropped to the floor. I could make out the evil looking beast running and panting towards me and just then I woke up with a startle.

Sweat was beading down my face and as I slowly glanced over at the alarm clock it read 3:36 AM. I groaned and slowly got up to make my way across the apartment. When I say apartment it is more like the pent house of pent houses in New York. See my parents died when I was born and I was granted with a boat load of money. I still work a side job just so I get a little money and so social workers stay off my back. I have never really had any hassle with them because of my money. It's almost as if my parents paid them off before they died. I walked over to the P.A. and called down to the doorman, Clayton who always has got my back. I ordered warm milk with some cookies to be brought up to my room. He asked me if everything was alright and I told him it was just a nightmare. He told me they'd be up to me in five minutes.

Oh yeah, before I get too far I should tell you my name. My name is Will Parker. And my job is a roasted nut vendor on the corner of 8th Avenue, and West 31st Street. I get a couple of bucks afterwards to go to Madison Square Garden and catch a hockey game when their at home. I am an A student over at my high school and I am a current junior. I am 17 and ready to get on with my life.

After Clayton brought up my midnight snack I made my way back to bed making sure my backpack was at my desk ready to go in the morning. I positioned myself back in bed a prayed I wouldn't dream of the demon dog and luckily it was a different dream, a weird one at that.

"Chiron listen, Lance had info on this kid from the NSA. We need to get him if it's the one Hermes is talking about," the person said. I couldn't make out the people talking only their names but not appearance. For whatever reason this dream was dark and gloomy as well as the one with the creepy demon dog chasing me.

"You cannot just chase after any person Hermes wants you to. Or one that Louis finds for you. Even if I permit anyone to go it should be Lance instead of you Kyle," said the man who must have been Chiron.

"I need to go. Just because the last demigod we rescued was a loose cannon does not mean this one will be the same. Plus if he is the one he will have seen the symbols. And maybe he knows the whereabouts of it," said who must have been Kyle

"That is a lot of assumptions on this case. But if I let you go Lance will hate you."

"To Hades if he does. You heard Athena we need it back now."

A third voice came into the scene saying, "Need what ba…" The dream had cut out just as my alarm started going off furiously. I got up thinking to myself what a weird night that had been and as I rubbed my eyes I thought they fooled me. I rubbed again and I was seeing clearly, a book. A big leather bound book lying on my desk, it was defiantly not there last night when I moved my backpack. I began to get a little nervous as I slowly inspected my apartment grasping a hockey stick as a weapon. All the windows were just fine and the door was still locked.

I slowly made my way back to the book and opened it cautiously. Nothing happened, luckily except for the book being dusty leaving a dust mushroom cloud everywhere. I flipped a couple of pages and noticed it was a mythology book. I came across a page titled 'Gargoyles,' with a picture of a big stone monster on it. I read it aloud to myself. I startled myself and closed the book dropping it into my backpack. I quickly showered and got dressed for school. I thought to myself if I can just go three days without causing trouble I'll be home free and good for Winter break. For whatever reason our school closed three weeks before Christmas and gave us about a month off, I liked it and so did half the school. Today being Wednesday I just needed to not cause problems for three more days and I'd get the principle off my back.

Just then the bus creaked in front of my building. I P.A.'d down to the desk, "Clayton stall the bus driver for me I'm a few minutes behind."

"Ok got it Boss Parker," said Clayton. Hopefully it would work today and not cause the driver any trouble.

I quickly grabbed my backpack and snatched up my chocolate Pop-Tart as it popped and slid into the elevator. I made it to ground floor and rushed out. I jumped onto the bus and the bus driver looked at me and scowled at me. I offered her a Pop-Tart and she said, "Take a seat already, Parker!"

As I made my way back Zack the little bully of the school stuck his foot out and my face met the floor of the bus. Some new heavy set kids sat with him and chuckled. Their faces reminded me of something but I wasn't sure. Some other new kid stuck his hand out to help me up. I accepted his help and stood up. I had Pop-Tart smeared and crushed into my shirt. I thanked him and asked him his name. He responded saying, "Well it's no problem, but I'm Kyle Pierce."

I looked at him for a second putting the name to the face and sat next to my long time friend Jordan Canley. She lived with her dad and had been going to the same school as me for the past twelve years, even though her dad has helped raise me. So I've known Jordan ever since I can remember. I looked at her and she just smiled and laughed as she was taking out her headphones. "You've got some breakfast on you Will. You forget you're supposed to put food in your mouth and not wear it?"

"Well you know, I tend to forget these things," I said. Just then Kyle snapped himself around and just stared at me. "Are you feeling alright there Kyle?"

"Yeah, I am. I just got here from, eh, Canada," stammered Kyle.

"Oh, I'm not that big of a fan of Canada, especially their hockey teams." He sort of rolled his eyes at me and talked more with Jordan. I sat back and took one of Jordan's headphones and listened to her iPod. Man there is a reason it is called an "I-Pod." "Taylor Swift!? Really Jordan?" That was strike two on my plate for the day on the bus. I got uproar of laughter from the students on the bus. I saw Zack just scowling at me, but I realized we were also stopped.

"Parker!" yelled the bus driver, which I learned latter her name was Helga. I stood up but was cornered and I was going to get in trouble. Kyle just gawked at me and Jordan buried her head down embarrassed. I'm not sure for my sake or for hers. But I felt bad. Helga drug me by my shirt to the front of the bus and tossed me on the seat diagonally behind her. Well there went the remainder of my cool status. "Listen Parker. You may not have realized it but for your entire school life I've kept you safe. Clayton and I both have. And if you disrupt that pattern there will be repercussions against us."

"So you're telling me that you have been my bodyguard for the past 13 years?"

"Exactly and if you follow through with this you will cause trouble."

"Follow through with what?" I asked confused.

"Everybody off of my bus, now!" Helga the bus driver yelled. And she was right we were at school. But it was weird how she had acted. But as I walked into the school I quickly exchanged a glance of Kyle and Jordan talking and I felt left out. I walked to my locker and I heard a shriek from down the hall. It was Jordan.

I slammed my locker shut and rushed down the hall to see Jordan on the outside of a circle formed by spectators. "What's wrong?" I asked her.

"Zack and his new friends got Kyle in the middle," I made out through Jordan's weeps. I stood up on one of the lockers to get a better view and I saw Zack with four buff looking friends encircling Kyle. For whatever reason I could tell Kyle was holding back for some odd reason. He didn't want to punch them and he was only dodging them. That's when I got strike number three.

Of all things I should have done, get a teacher, get help, do ANYTHING but jump into the fight and help Kyle. Which option did I chose the stupid option of course. I jumped right onto one of Zack's new goons backs and he hit the floor like a rock. The two who were holding Kyle looked dumbfounded. Zack through one extra punch into Kyle before he decided to recognize me. I could make out Kyle bleeding from under his clothes. Zack's other goon walked towards me and got me from behind. Zack threw a couple of punches in at me and said, "Where are all of your friends now! How come you can't protect yourself even though you try to protect others hero?" He said all of this as if taunting and jeering me.

Just after he gave me some raccoon eyes the circle depleted and Kyle lay on the floor. I saw footsteps draw near to our position. It was the principal of the school, and he was here to yell at me. I could make out Jordan running up to Kyle's side asking him if he was alright and he moaned for a bit and said old wound. Zack kept on throwing blows into my gut and the principal said, "Shouldn't you do this on your own time Zack and not during your learning hours. Now disperse if you don't want any trouble." The last of his goons walked away with him to class, and that left four, the principal, a bloody Kyle, Jordan who is pissed at me, and me. Great a three on one situation.

The principal had me help Kyle to the nurse where he got wrapped up and Jordan stayed with him. Cool one I thought, abandon your long time friend for the new kid, classy. The principal took me to his office where he sat me down, and delivered the usual spiel, "William, you know I am sorry about your parents and you being raised on your own but you have to try."

"Wait, eh, wait. You didn't know my parents; all you want is my money. And you see the criminal of a kid who beat the new kid to a pulp and let him go. Yet I'm the one who tries to help and gets in trouble. Ok cool one. Just to let you know after today I am not returning to this school."

"Good to know that we are on same terms. After today please leave this academy and enroll at a public one."

I got up at that and left the room. How would I break the news to Jordan? Although she now has a better friend than myself. I managed to make it through the first three classes before having a fun class, history. In history the teacher is Mr. Schmitz. This guy is in his early twenties and he loves to play games to make history fun. He was the one teacher who actually liked me at this school. I ran into Jordan in the hallway, more like at my locker. She was waiting with me and Kyle was next to her. Problem is I couldn't break the news about me getting kicked out yet to her because we share the next three classes together. I began to tell her, "Jordan look I'm sorry for this morning, I didn't mean to freak out about the music it's just."

She cut me off saying, "It's ok. I'm fine, but Kyle wants a word with you." I thought to myself ok this nut wants to talk to me then probably beat me up himself, good to know. "I'll save you two seats ok."

"Ok," we both said in unison. "Will look you probably know why I am here."

"Actually I have no idea, but hopefully it's because you've realized how crappy your Canadian teams are." He rolled his eyes at me and hit me in the gut. "Unf, you're not from Canada are you?"

"No I'm not from Canada and I don't know what hockey is water boy. But here is the card." And with that Kyle slipped me a card and started to walk away. I looked down and read "Demigod Central, The only normalcy in this universe."

I quickly speed down the hall to catch up with him and then I asked him, "How did you get that wound Kyle?"

He pretended to ignore me at first and then said, "I got it helping someone like you a couple months ago. The plan went south quickly and I had to get some not so efficient help."

"You are in a gang? I'm sorry but dude you are a surfer and do not look like gang material."

"It's not a gang, but, er… You'll learn eventually just stray from strange occurrences."

"Got it nothing weird," saying that I probably jinxed the rest of my day, week, month, year, and most importantly life. We walked into our history class and Jordan is sitting with a seat on either side of her saved. Kyle took his seat and I took mine and "plop" and "clank" went my chair. I laid there with my desk in pieces around me. I had stood up brushing the floor dust off of me and I see Zack chough dropping bolts and screws waving a wrench at me. Just then Mr. Schmitz walked in. The class was gawking at him. He came in wearing full blown Greek body armor and said, "Will take a seat other than your mess, and Zack please be cleaning it at the end of class." I loved this guy as a teacher. The one teacher who actually sided with me and against Zack.

The class went by quickly and Zack had to stay after and fix my desk. Mr. Schmitz called me to his desk as Jordan, Kyle, and myself were leaving in a good mood. He whispered to me and looked up seeing they were still there. He said, "You two are good to head on to lunch, I need Will to go to the library for me. You can meet him there in half an hour." I thought half an hour what does he want me to do for him? He continued to me whispering quietly, "You need to get out of here now. Stay put in the library for twenty minutes so I can get you out of here and to safety."

"What? You sound like Helga," I said confused.

"Who's Helga? Never mind that, not enough time go to the library and don't do anything until I get there."

I thought that Greek armor was getting to him, but I listened anyways and skipped lunch for the library. Why were all the adults acting weird today, Mr. Schmitz, Helga, Clayton, and well Clayton is just Clayton and always acts that way so he's excused. I made it two stories up and into the school's library. The librarian saw me and said, "Oh my it's Willie. Hold down the fort while I make a brake for it."

"It's Will, but ok," I said as she scuttled out of the room. I sat down at a desk and pulled out the book I found on my desk this morning. I stared at it then opened to a random page, "Goatman," was the title. I murmured the passage to myself. About five minutes later I closed up the book. I sat there staring at my watch and twiddling a pencil. Just then I heard a clank against the window. I sat up and listened again. Then I heard a thump. It was just an old man throwing rocks at windows. Then as I turned away I heard a shatter and something scramble behind me. It started scuttling saying, "Book! Book! Give me the Book!"

"Who's there," I said. "And there are a bunch of books here I'm sure you'll find the one you're looking for." I tried searching the room for him and the lights went out. The room was pitch black except for the flood lights that started to come on along with the broken window.

"That is better. Reminds me more like sacred land at home. Ah I miss my throne of human bones. It sits next to a bridge in the woods. Foolish boys once find me and I eat them. All eaten but one who spread my legend." I slowly backed up to my desk and slid the book into my backpack because he was looking for that book.

"You are the Goatman of Maryland than," I said quickly trying to keep it busy. "But you are just an urban legend."

"Legend, no. Myth, no. Foolish boy this school teach you nothing. And what fun is a fight when you can't hurt me." At that point I could see his shadow and where he was moving. I made for the stairs and made my way to the third story of the school. Just then I heard familiar voices, Jordan, and Kyle. They were looking for me, and the Goatman would eat them. "Ah fresh meat to eat before the meal. Another water child is near."

I stood still and in silence and waited before doing anything. It crept by my isle and I hit the Goatman in the head with my backpack and the heavy book. I scream, "Jordan! Kyle! Get out of here now! Some psycho goat is on the loose!" I passed them in my sprinting and hit hard against a wall, only it was the door. Two rock humanoids were blocking the door.

Kyle looked at me and said, "You are defiantly the one now. Chiron is going to be so ticked with me."

"Ha you are the boy from my dream with the man named Chiron!"

"Centaur! He will trample you for saying that."

Jordan walked over to me and handed me something wrapped in a cloth, and she whispered, "Be safe and we will meet again soon." With that she kissed me and told me to run out the window. I looked and saw a third boulder man blocking the broken window. I made out Kyle with a black two handed sword going against the Goatman. I scrambled up the steps and towards a window. I looked down and saw an awning and prayed for luck. I shouldered my backpack and charged the window, and fell to the streets below. I crashed through the glass piercing my face and arms. The fall was not as bad even though I broke my arm one landing. I rolled over and got up moaning and limping. I made out goon made number four wearing a trench coat and fedora making his way towards me. I limped my way furiously across the street and to the subway station. The Gargoyle is what I chalked them up to be behind me was now closing the gap. I made my way through security and just my luck. Next train in two minutes.

I sat in the almost empty station with a camera man and news reporter, reporting on city transport filth LIVE. A homeless man sat in one corner and a musician across the hall from him. Two other business men stood waiting for their train.

Just then I heard the sound of clashing and bending metal. The Gargoyle #4 was quickly approaching. I saw him enter the tunnel searching for me. I got up and hobbled toward the train grasping my arm. Too late I was spotted and he shuffled closer towards me. I heard two moans, one was, "Book," and the other, "Darkness." He grabbed my shoulder and started to lift me up. His second hand grasped my torso and the anchormans attention quickly shifted towards me. The Gargoyle hoisted me over his head and tossed me down onto the tracks.

I lay there trying to regain some consciousness. The tracks began to spark and time was running out. I crawled towards a gap between the tracks and the station and lay under the lip. Just then all I could see was a white light hear the honking of a horn and feel the pain of a thousand aches. I fell under the tracks into a deep sleep. And I knew one thing, I was never riding the subway again!


	2. The Boy with Chopsticks

I slowly began to regain some consciousness and I felt my arms strapped to a bed. My eyes began to flutter open but it was a struggle to do so. About three hours late, I believe it was only three; I finally managed to keep my eyes open without going under. I laid there on the bed glancing at the TV across from me on the wall. It was showing a news report, interviewing someone familiar. I tried to reposition myself to hear it more and I noticed the volume on the TV increasing. I focused on the person talking and I made out it being the principal of my school. He was saying, "This child was menace from the start. I hate to be talking down on any of my students but he was trouble. I have a three strike policy at my school and he received all three in one day before this incident last week." The reporter just shook her head.

A voice in the doorway of the room said, "It really is a shame what a crappy principal can do to one's reputation." I don't think the person in corner noticed me until I opened my big mouth.

I said, "Who? Where? What has happened?" Once I said that the boy in the corner freaked out and dropped a Chinese food container, spilling his rice all over the floor.

"Joey! He's awake, sort of!" Whoever he was calling ignored him for a bit watching his television in the other room. I then noticed the boy standing in the corner with chopsticks has made his way to the other room. I heard some punches and quarrels being exchanged and then Joey entered the room, or should I say Mr. Schmitz.

Mr. Schmitz walked in to talk to me while the boy with chopsticks and Chinese food monitored my IV's. Joey as the other had called him walked over to my side and touched my rib. I winced at the pain, and he said, "Still fractured I presume, Brian do you have an estimated time on its healing?"

"I'm doing the best I can with what I got. We didn't train all that long so I don't know how to do this one hundred percent," Brian said. "I have to admit kid you took quite a fall, and a hit. What was that creature anyways?"

I began to sit up some more and I said, "I'm about 90% positive that was a Gargoyle. And I recall something about the Goatman." I rubbed my head recalling stuff that had happened. "Does anyone know the full story?"

Brian chimed in, "The internet." Joey slapped Brian for saying that. I looked dazed and they showed me two videos. One was named, "Local New Yorker Falls from Building," and the other was titled, "Boy in the Subway." After watching my not so graceful fall, and then seeing my incident with the news reporter.

After another hour or so, Brian and Joey retreated to the other room. I reached for my backpack and grabbed out my cell phone. The battery was almost dead but I saw my messages. There were 12 missed calls from Jordan. I listened to each of the voice mails. She was wondering what had happened to me. I was just about to call her back when an arrow whizzed by my head and caught the phone sending it into the wall. I gapped my mouth in disgust at the archer that just destroyed my phone. Brian was standing in the doorway and he looked right at me and said, "Who were you calling?"

"Why does it matter?" I retorted.

"No phones in this building. Here in Trenton we aren't in the best location."

"What do you mean?"

"Monsters, especially those Gargoyles will be on your trail. Who did you call?"

"My friend Jordan, I listened to the voicemails she had left me." I said.

Brian walked over and unhooked my restraints and tossed me my backpack. I grunted when I caught it and he opened up the cabinet and handed me the dagger that Jordan gave me in the library. I finally got a good glimpse of it. A fire encrusted pattern from the hilt to the tip of the blade. As I turned it from side to side you could see the metal glisten and appear to be a flick of fire. The handle was made of leather wrapped carefully around. Brian had got me a sheath for it to strap to my waste. I hooked it up and gingerly put on my backpack as Brian was ransacking the apartment. Joey finally came over and asked Brian what was the matter and Brian handed him a phone looking device. "So you guys get a phone?" I asked.

Brian turned to me saying, "It isn't a phone. It is a monster tracker. All these red lights are monsters. Green lights are demigods. We are these three green lights. We need to get down to Pittsburgh."

"Why not just go back to New York?" I asked still feeling the medication.

"Yes going back to New York, where you are wanted by the cops. No I vote Pittsburgh since it's the nearest city with a portal and since you aren't wanted there. Plus there is a demigod it looks like," Brian said.

I tried to argue with Brian for a little bit and found it useless. Brian touched the phone like device and zoomed in. In doing so he exchanged glances with Joey and showed him the device. Joey look defiantly worsen looking at it. I asked, "What is wrong Mr. Schmitz?"

"You can call me Joey. And according to this device we are about to be swarmed by monsters. You see we are these three green dots. The red are the monsters. And if you look around our building we are being swarmed," Joey said sternly.

I opened a blind in my hospital like room and glanced out I saw a bunch of scary things swarming the building. Brian opened a hatch in the wall and as I was looking out I saw some of them falling down. He had a crossbow in his hand firing and reloading faster than I thought was possible. "How are you doing that?" I asked.

"Doing what killing them?" He asked.

"No I mean shooting and reloading so fast," I stated.

"I don't know how I do it. I just do." As he said that I spotted the man in the trench coat again. The same guy or monster I should say from the subway, the gargoyle. Although he looked like the strongest there he wasn't in charge. Someone else was. It was a man cloaked in armor wearing a cape with fur around it. He had a necklace full of shark teeth. As I looked at his face I could notice wolf like features. His eyes were cunning almost as if he was constantly scanning the area for prey. His mouth had noticeable areas where fangs would be. My head began to hurt staring to long at him. Then without noticing I was viewing his perspective.

"Give me the megaphone. C'mon give it to me I don't want to waste time. That darn fumbling goat messed with your attempt. And all you did was put that stupid boy back in the subway," he said.

"I'm sorry," grunted the Gargoyle. "So Akhlut, once we get the boy. What are we going to do?"

"What are we going to do? How about you just give me my megaphone Balfour!" With that Balfour ran and took the megaphone out of one of their trucks and stumbled over handing it Akhlut.

I rubbed my eyes and I felt dizzy. I noticed the hospital like appearance around me. I still saw Brian shooting arrows and he was just about out with one left. Brian brushed his hair from his face as he took aim for Balfour. I wanted to yell at him to stop but I was too dizzy to come to my senses. My brain was thinking it, but my mouth wouldn't move. Brian had shot his last arrow and it shot right into Balfour's trench coat. Balfour stared up at Brian's hole in the wall and threw a rock right into Brian's chest. Brian fell to the floor gasping for air just as Joey reentered the room. "What happened," he asked.

"Balfour threw a rock, and now Akhlut is on the megaphone," I stated.

"How do you know," but he was interrupted by Akhlut's shouting.

"Mr. Parker of New York, come on and just come with us. You have me in a good mood right now. I don't feel like being a killer whale or wolf or a combo of the two now. So what do you say, come with us and not get chased by idiots like Balfour and that stupid Goatman? You have five minutes until I let Balfour unleash his beasts upon your building," Akhlut shouted.

Brian lay on the floor coughing until he got up and stopped his coughing. He looked at his bow and strung it over his shoulder. Joey handed Brian a backpack and gave him keys to a car. Joey gave him a hug and told him good luck and to get me to safety. They ended their exchange by Brian telling them they would meet again. Brian looked at me and said, "You coming? We got to get to the Jeep in the garage."

We made it down to the garage and Brian found a fresh stash of arrows he had hidden. He slung the quiver around his back and ran to the Jeep. There was a monster sniffing the car. At first I thought it was the Goatman again. I drew my dagger and approached him cautiously. Brian had unlocked the car and it had startled him. He stumbled backwards and I jumped on his back with my knife at his throat. The goat like thing was not the Goatman but he was gasping trying to free himself. Brian slew open a door and I threw the creature in the backseat. Brian tied his arms and legs to the chairs and seatbelts and it was not going anywhere anytime soon. Brian quickly got in the driver seat and buckled up and I hoped in the passenger seat. The goat creature still didn't stop screaming. I turned around in my seat and said, "If you don't shut up now you won't live to see another day. And you won't be able to go back to your psychotic leader."

The goat stared at me and said, "Leader? You really think all satyrs are associated with the Goatman. He's the exact opposite of satyrs. If that's the stereo type we are getting mixed up with now days please kill me."

Brian hit the brakes hard and said, "Satyr, you're a satyr? Why are you here in the middle of this mess?"

"Well Chiron sent me out to search for a Mr. Joey Schmitz since a student came back with only one and not two demigods. And it was a she not a he. And now I am here. Ash Brush at your service," the satyr named Ash said.

I looked and thought for a second. Chiron is a centaur who trained Achilles and Hercules back in ancient times. I looked at him sizing him up. Then I thought of a question to ask to see if his story was true, since Brian and myself were suspicious, "What did the two people look like?"

"One was a buffer, surfer like guy named Kyle. He was a student that Chiron had sent out. And the other was a girl quite pretty in looks. Brown hair that was very long, a lightly freckled face, and she is just pretty."

"A daughter of Aphrodite and a Son of Poseidon then," Brian said as he started to drive again. His story checked out then. We heard an echo of Akhlut's megaphone saying, "thirty seconds." Brian floored the gas and he busted out of the parking garage. Balfour looked shocked and Akhlut face was furious as he shifted into a wolf. He pursued us until we shook him by turning right in front of Balfour. Akhlut slowly shifted back into a human like figure with an orca fin on his back and wolf fangs in his mouth. Brian continued to drive out of Trenton. And the last sight of Trenton was a cloud of dust as the building that Brian, Joey, and myself were just in less than thirty minutes ago. We continued to drive westbound as we hoped out onto I-76 and headed to Pittsburgh. I prayed that I would never need to go back to Trenton again and be reminded of the destruction of Brian's house.


End file.
